But your cousin went to design school and seems to know what he’s talking about? Sure, go with your cousin. But let me ask you something.

Has your cousin been designing like this for years? Does he specialize specifically in the kind of design it takes to create something that will give the user an entire experience from beginning to end, pre-engagement to post? Is he part of an organization that includes a creative and development staff willing to go above and beyond to deliver and maintain an excellent product?

If your answer isn’t 100% yes to each of these questions, it means you need to look for a new design team.

Why? Let’s look at each question.

Dedicated Experience

The first question is about experience. You don’t want designers who are constantly distracted with a million different projects. You want a designer who is dedicated to designing products like websites and apps and the processes and customer interactions that go with them.

Design Thinking

Designing products like websites and apps is more than a graphic design thing. It’s a whole design thinking thing. You research your user, get insights from a team with diverse backgrounds, quickly create prototypes, test them, then analyze the feedback and make changes. All of this so that you can have a product that is thoroughly planned and optimized from start to end. Products don’t stand alone. You have to think of the whole journey the customer goes through. And you need designers who are prepared to do that.

Complete Team

When you hire a complete writing, design, and development team, you’ll receive a product that is comprehensively planned and meticulously created. If you have a cohesive team, you’ll receive a cohesive product. All aspects of your website, app, and whatever other products and services you need will have the same message, the same graphic line, and the same care.

Your website and apps are where you make money. They are where people are convinced to contact you or look for other options. You can’t afford to have a bad website or app.

Takeaways

Hire the team with the experience to create something great.

Hire the team who knows how to convert potential customers

Hire the team that has everyone needed to create a cohesive image and voice.